Miracle Workers – Dark Ages (2020), Daniel Radcliffe, tbs
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Geraldine Viswanathan, Steve Buscemi, Karan Soni and directed by Simon Rich, Miracle Workers is a comedy series set in the offices of Heaven Inc.
After learning that God has plans to destroy the Earth, two low-level angels bet him that they can pull off their most impossible miracle yet, to save humanity.
Season 1 Trailer
Season 2 Trailer
I actually haven’t watched season one of this series but after seeing the trailer for season two, I’m officially interested.
I already like the humour because it reminds me of the quite fun British comedy series Plebs.
Jon Bass, Karan Soni, Sasha Compère, Lolly Adefope, Mike Dunston, Theresa O’Shea, Caleb Emery, Joey Thurmond and Myles Evans also star.
Immediately, I failed to warm to Norman (Richard Gere). Not that I was supposed to warm to him exactly, but the fact that writer/director Joseph Cedar’s Norman Oppenheimer is quite the massive nuisance made continuing to watch this movie a big challenge.
I did, however, find the strength to continue because I wanted to learn about how the life of a small-time operator, a.k.a. New York fixer, a.k.a. total ‘bull**** artist’ would dramatically change for better and worse after he befriends a young politician at a low point in his life.
In my clearly desperate quest to be there when Norman finally got his comeuppance, I encountered a scene I liked a lot. Namely, the wonderfully satisfying moment when Norman gets caught out in one of his many, many lies, and he’s outsmarted by a target. That beautifully acted moment at the ‘private dinner’ really helped me come to terms with my decision to continue watching this movie.
As is the case in House of Cards, a political drama where those who are constant nuisances to very powerful people tend to ‘expire’ quite quickly, I imagined that at some point, Norman might suffer the same fate. In Cedar’s story, Norman doesn’t quite end up ceasing to exist, but as the synopsis promises, his life does become both better and worse.
A great cast that includes Gere, Lior Ashkenazi, Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Josh Charles didn’t do badly in their roles. I guess I just generally have little patience for Norman-like nuisances and this movie is all about a massive nuisance called Norman.
Watch it if you like or are curious about small time operators, New York fixer types, total ‘bull**** artists’ and that sort of thing.
Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez and Steve Buscemi are back in the third instalment of the Genndy Tartakovsky-directed Hotel Transylvania 3.
This time, the action takes place away from the vacation hotel and instead, everything happens on a luxury monster cruise ship.
The monster family are all having a great time catching up on their moon tans, but then Drac goes and falls for the mysterious captain of the ship, Ericka and everything changes.
I’ll be tuning in for the ‘easy viewing light entertainment’. I’ll probably also be wondering whose accent I love more, Adam Sandler as Drac in his Hotel Transylvania movies, or Steve Carell as Gru in the Despicable Me films. Both are pretty great, to be honest.
Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Keegan-Michael Key, David Spade and David Spade also star.
When I first realised thatThe Boss Baby was about a smart/adult-like briefcase carrying baby, I feared that as I watched the movie, I’d miss the only other smart/adult-like baby I’d ever known and loved. I’m of course talking about the lovable Stewie Griffin of Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy.
Luckily, as I watched the Tom McGrath-directed animated movie, not for a single second did the delightful Stewie G. come to mind. There was simply too much engaging fun, imagination and general cuteness going on in The Boss Baby.
The person behind the story of The Boss Baby (Marla Frazee) is an individual with a great imagination, not unlike the film’s main character, Timmy (Miles Bakshi), and many other children you may or may not know. Kids are certainly going to have a good time with The Boss Baby. But thank goodness, you don’t have to be a kid to like it.
Some things happened in The Boss Baby that really reminded me I was watching an animation, meaning the rules of what may or may not happen in an everyday situation simply have to be discarded completely. Usually, I’m fine with suspending my disbelief, but with this movie, for some reason, I was sometimes less able to do so at certain points.
My personal favourite animated films are still Finding Nemo (2003) and Ratatouille (2007). This movie, though not as well-executed in every way as the aforementioned, it’s still a fun adventure.
Another personal highlight for me was knowing that the dad character was being voiced by my favourite American talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel; a seemingly nice man whose voice I happen to find rather comforting.
